Deep within a Sea-Cave
by Penelope Swann
Summary: A girl from regional Australia finds herself stranded on Mount Pyre. After she's rescued by a local pokémon breeder, she learns about pokémon. With the help of the breeder's daughter, she sets off on a Hoenn adventure along with her vulpix. She learns about the legends of Hoenn, pokémon and friendship. But then she meets the Hoenn League Champion: Steven...
1. The ascent

**Author's Note: **This first chapter is more of an introduction/prologue.

...

**Chapter One: The** **Ascent **

It's sunset. I'm at the bottom of an isolated mountain, surrounded by the sea. The atmosphere feels somewhat ominous, perhaps even haunted. I can hear the harsh sea winds gushing past me and blowing my hair all over the place. I'm pacing around trying to find a way to get away from here. But then, I notice a stone staircase that seems to go around the mountain. There is a heavily weathered sign next to it with a faded arrow pointing upwards and some barely legiable text saying 'Summit'. Maybe I'll find someone further up the mountain who'll help me. And so I begin the ascent.

The sky is becoming darker and darker. I feel like I've been climbing these stairs for half an hour at least. I just keep going; it's my only choice. I don't dare look over the edge as I'm of a nervous disposition and the darkness and unfamiliarity of this place already makes me scared. As I've ascended further up this mountain, I can see that this mountain is somewhat forested. Through the sea winds, I hear the rustling of bushes and the snapping of twigs. The scent of burnt wood wafts in the air. Perhaps there are some people camping somewhere around here. Good.

I'm becoming weaker with every step. It's now completely dark; I can barely see my surroundings. How long is this going to take? Where am I even going? Through the wind, I'm hearing some strange, high-pitched growls and they are sounding like they're coming towards me. Not only that but the sounds of twigs and branches snapping is filling the air. My heartbeat is racing. I want to run but I can't; I'm paralysed in fear. Suddenly, a jet of flames burst out a few metres ahead of me. I can only scream...


	2. Breakfast TV with Lillian and a Vulpix

**Chapter 2: ****Breakfast Television with Lillian and a Vulpix**

I wake up lying in a bed covered in thick blankets. What a relief; I'm not dead. As I open my eyes I realise that I'm in a foreign place; a place I've never been before. But I know that someone must have rescued me. I can hear the sound of a radio or television coming from another room. Before I can ponder any further on my whereabouts, something at my feet moves. I look down to see a small, brown fox-like creature with six rust-coloured curled tails and curls on its head, standing and looking at me with its large, glistening brown eyes. I can't help but smile, as it's really just too cute, whatever it is. It walks over me and affectionately nuzzles my left cheek. I reach over to stroke its back and it chirps in delight. Its fur is soft, fine and smooth. Upon seeing its full body it has darker brown paws and a creamy white belly. It squeals in delight as I pat it.

"I see you've met the little vulpix!" An old, jolly woman laughs. She was standing in the doorway.

"We found you last night, unconscious on the stairway. We were on a walk; my husband and I. It's lucky we found you or the wild ninetales would have got you Hahaha! How are you feeling? Are you alright?"

I'm startled by her sudden arrival. I'm very easily startled. Her accent is unlike any other I know. I'm unsure as to how I can describe it. Just where am I? I feel like I'm not even in my own country. I'm feeling awfully woozy; I really don't feel talkative at all. I'm assuming that this strange creature curled up beside me is called a 'vulpix'.

"Oh, I'm alright, I guess. Just surprised that I'm in a different place," I reply while sitting up, still feeling woozy.

"Oh well that's expected! You were unconscious after all. Would you like something to eat or drink? Breakfast will be ready soon. We'll be having toasted poffins and some freshly made berry smoothies."

I don't know what a 'poffin' is either. It must be a local dish. I'm willing to try it though.

"Oh thank you! That sounds great."

"Great! Just follow me to the kitchen. You can just watch a little telly if you like. My name is Lillian, by the way."

"Okay!" I reply as I get out of bed, the vulpix following us. "My name's Maria."

I follow Lillian to the kitchen. The kitchen, informal dining area and lounge room are in an open plan. I sit down at the breakfast bar. The vulpix is poking at my feet and whimpering as if it wants attention.

"Don't let her sit on your lap," Lillian said from behind the stove "She'll try and eat your food. Vulpix, on your bed!"

The vulpix now looks disappointed and crawled over onto a large, pink floor pillow in the lounge room where the television is broadcasting a morning talk show. On it, a woman in her thirties with golden brown hair in a bright floral dress is presenting.

"Now, for the moment you've all been waiting for! Live, this morning is none other than our Pokemon league champion, Steven Stone!" she announces enthusiastically in the same accent as Lillian's.

The predominantly female audience cheers as a (prematurely) silver haired man in his twenties walks onto the stage. He is wearing black jeans and a grey blazer over a white shirt. He waves and smiles as he sits down on a red couch, just across from where the presenter is seated.

"It's a pleasure to have you on here today, Steven!"

"Why thank you! And it's a pleasure to be here as well" he replies, the screen focusing on his pale, softly smiling face.

"So after a thrilling match, you still remain as the undefeated Champion of Hoenn! This is your fifth year in a row. How do you feel about all this?"

"Firstly, I feel very proud of my pokémon; they're really the ones to be thanked. I feel really blessed to have such a wonderful team. I also feel thankful for my family, friends and fans who have supported me throughout my career as a trainer. As for the match against my opponent – Brendan – it was one of the most memorable I've had. He really had notable strength and a great technique and he really kept me on my toes. I expect much greater things from him and his team in the future."

The audience squeals in delight. I can see why he must be so popular, he's attractive and very well spoken. But what's a 'pokémon'?

"Always an eloquent answer from you!" she laughs "Any advice for budding trainers hoping to make the big league?"

"My advice is to stick with your favorites, the ones you have a close bond with. You'd be surprised how far you can go with a so-called 'weak' pokémon. An issue I see with a lot of amateur trainers is that they tend to use their pokémon as a tool. They fail to create a bond with their pokémon and the lack of trust between the two causes many problems in battle. This is especially true with the pokémon that are known for being really powerful. Often, they are usually more intelligent and can easily read their trainer's intentions. They typically misbehave and can put, not only their trainer, but other people and pokémon in danger," he pauses. "Oh, and always have a good strategy."

"What else would we expect from our champion?"

Steven just smiles. The presenter pulls out a hat filled with bits of paper from behind the couch.

"So, Steven, we had our fans send in questions to ask you. We put them in this nice little hat and you just pick one out, give it to me and answer it. Sounds good?"

"Yes. Let's do it!" he says as he pulls a question from the hat and gives it to her.

"Okay question number one...In previous interviews you've said that you and Wallace are friends. How long have you known each other for? And do you two have any competition between each other?"

"Well we've been friends since we were about three years old. Our parents were friends and therefore we saw each other a lot. We both traveled together, training our pokémon, through our teens. We both were rather competitive between ourselves but we never really let our victories and losses get between us. As time went on, we started to pursue different goals. Wallace wanted to be a gym leader like his mentor Juan, while I wanted to continue to become the Hoenn league champion. These days, we see each other for drinks and a battle every now and then. We're both pretty busy."

"That's so awesome!" she gives Steven the hat and he picks another question and gives it to her.

"Oh, I think everyone is eager to ask this, how would you describe your ideal girl?" she laughs.

"Well…" Steven bites his lip and chuckles "I like a girl who likes to travel around with pokémon and accepts my bizarre rare-stone collecting hobby. Also I like a girl who's got that sweet and bubbly personality. And I'm a sucker for a big smile," He laughs.

The audience goes ballistic at his answer. I'm cheering on the inside as well. This guy is magnetic. He has a very professional manner.

"Fan of Steven are ya?" Lillian teasingly jokes

"Well I am now!" I say while I can feel my cheeks getting warmer

"Hahaha! Anyway, breakfast is ready!" She laughs

Lillian places a plate of these light pink, cake-like balls in front of me, along with a tall glass of a berry smoothie. I'm guessing the pink things are the poffins. I notice the show has now gone to a commercial break. Lillian turns the volume down. I take a bite out of a poffin, it's quite sweet, and its texture is like a moist scone, but toasted on the outside. The vulpix is now poking around my feet, pacing around in hope that one of us drops some food. Lillian shoos the vulpix away, and it sadly curls up on its 'bed'. She then turns to me and asks:

"So what brought you here to Mount Pyre? Especially so late at night?"

I have no idea how to answer this. I haven't got a clue of where I am and I sure don't know how I got here.

"Ummm… I don't know where I am," I respond awkwardly.

"We're in Mount Pyre. Are you alright?" she looks concerned.

"Mount Pyre? Where's that?"

"It's the mountain just West of Lilycove city and just south of the Safari zone. You know, just across the sea."

She looks even more worried as she can tell that I have no idea what she's talking about.

"Uhhh…"

"Can you tell me where you're from?"

"I'm from Australia…"

"I've never heard of that place… Where's that?" she looks just as confused as I do.

I'm surprised that this woman has never heard of Australia. I have no idea what to say. I just stare at her blankly.

"Do you know how you got here?" she says with a stern tone.

"Well I was at the foot of a mountain and climbing a stone staircase. Then I saw flames appear in front of me"

She's quiet for a moment. Then she says:

"What's your last memory of what happened before you arrived at the foot of the mountain?"

"Well… I remember I was at my favourite beach; it is secluded and hidden by a small forest. I went for a swim and I got caught in the rip. I couldn't get myself out of it. It wasn't a patrolled beach so there were no lifeguards or anyone to help me. Eventually I was swimming far away from the mainland. I tried to swim towards home but the current was so strong that I couldn't fight it. Then, I found a small island, only about ten metres at its widest point. I climbed onto the island and I noticed it had a little cave. It started to rain at this point, so I climbed into the tunnel for shelter. I noticed that this was an entrance to a tunnel. And then the whole tunnel began to glow… Then I was at the bottom of the mountain."

She looks at me, eyes wide. It is the strangest (true) thing I've told anyone. I take a sip of my berry smoothie and a gulp down the remainder of my poffin.

"I see…" she nods. She seems to believe me. Strange. "I assume you don't know anything about where you are?"

"I don't know anything about this place. But I've seen things that don't even exist where I come from; like that vulpix, or those poffins. Also what's a pokémon?"

"You don't have pokémon where you come from?"

Lillian looks at me in disbelief. And she ponders what she's going to say next.

"Well vulpix is a type of pokémon. People train pokémon and battle them. Some people enter them in contests. Others use them to help with farming and other kinds of work. And the rest keep them as pets. Pokemon each have different powers. There are seventeen groups, Ice, dragon, fire, water, electric, grass, bug, poison, ghost, dark, psychic, steel, ground, rock, normal, flying and fighting. Some pokémon are a mixture between two types and all have advantages and disadvantages over others. For example fire has power over ice and water has power over fire. Additionally a pokémon can learn moves that are not of its own elemental type. Also, pokémon evolve; they change form under certain circumstances. For example vulpix, when it comes into contact with a fire stone, will evolve into a ninetales," she explains.

"What's a ninetales?"

"Actually, my husband and I breed ninetales and sell them to trainers. Our two ninetales are currently out the back. When we've finished breakfast, I'll show you. And that vulpix is one of the most recent babies. She's about two months old. We were going to sell her a month ago but she had a leg injury and we couldn't sell her. So we're keeping her for now."

I'm still taking all that information in. I'm now even more confused as to where I am. But I am still feeling woozy. But I'd really like to see the ninetales.


	3. Ninetales, Vulpix and Skarmory! Oh my!

Author's Note: This story is in Australian English. Therefore, there may be some unfamiliar words, idioms and the like to those of you who are not Aussie. I highly recommend reading this in an Australian accent for optimum experience. If my choice of dialect disgruntles you, then just read this in whatever accent/dialect takes your fancy. I really don't mind.

**Chapter 3:** **Ninetales, Vulpix and Skarmory, Oh My!**

Now that I have a bit of food in me, I'm feeling a little better. I'm helping Lillian clean up, as I felt like I should. She _did _rescue me, after all. Anyway...

We walk outside from the lounge room. The vulpix follows as well. It's a little chilly outside, although I'm still wearing my short sleeved, short-legged wetsuit so that isn't helping. The back yard is very plain, just a large expanse of lawn with a few plants and a small, wooden shed. But it really doesn't matter, as the view is incredible. The house is at the top of the mountain, but even if the mountain isn't very tall, we're still pretty high up. I can see the surrounding sea and across from it, a lush wilderness. Before I can take in the view even more, Lillian calls out to me from the shed. I walk into the shed and then I see them. Sleeping on a pile of large cushions are two gorgeous, cream-coloured, maned fox-like creatures with nine, brown tipped tails that billow out. The vulpix chirps and runs towards one of them, and nuzzles into its mane, waking it up.

"Well these are what we call ninetales. It's pretty obvious how they got their name. These are the vulpix's parents. The mother is a contest winner and the father is a Hoenn league champion," Lillian explains.

"They're so pretty! Can I pat them?"

"Sure, but just be careful of their tails. They really don't like to have their tails yanked and pulled."

I reach out my hand and crouch towards the one vulpix is curled up next to. It sniffs my hand and licks it. I then pat its head. Its fur is soft and plush. I'm a little surprised that its eyes are bright red; I was expecting them to be brown like the vulpix's are. I run my fingers through its mane. The fur of its mane isn't as soft and plush but rather shaggy. The other one just continues sleeping.

"Up here on Mount Pyre we have wild vulpix and ninetales. The jet of flames you mentioned earlier probably came from a wild ninetales. They tend to have fights at this time of year. It _is_ mating season after all."

That explains the scent of burning wood and the growling. It's strange that these seemingly sweet, graceful creatures can breathe fire.

"They are also highly intelligent - same with vulpix. They can understand human speech and they possess psychic powers. Contrary to what you might think, they are not considered a psychic type due to having no particular weakness to dark, ghost or bug types. They also make great companions and with the right trainer, they're great members to have on your team."

"They're so pretty and graceful. I didn't know they'd have these kinds of powers. I want one now," I sigh, still stroking the ninetales' mane.

"Well, we're expecting another litter of vulpix very soon so it'd be difficult to keep this one with us," she said pointing to the vulpix. "But seeing as you two seem to like each other, I can give her to you. You seem like you'd be very good with pokémon. You can name her if you like."

"Thank you so much! Hmm… let's see… Pixie! No, that's not right, um… Savannah! No… Oh! Ruby!"

I try and get the vulpix's attention and she walks over to me.

"Is it okay if I call you Ruby?"

She seems to agree. I pat her head and scratch behind her ears. She chirps happily. She really is too cute.

"But there's something else I need to say. We can't have you live with us permanently. We can have you here for a short-term stay, though. I'm just thinking, would you like to travel around Hoenn with your vulpix and catch and raise more pokémon? My daughter did that, although now she helps trainers with raising pokémon. I'm not sure if being a trainer is to your interests but otherwise I can help you find a job and a place to stay."

"Oh thank you so much! That would be nice."

It all sounds amazing. I've always loved camping, hiking and the outdoors. Back home, I lived in a very small, coastal town and trees and forests surrounded it. My three brothers and I were homeschooled because our parents believed the school system was 'corrupt'. We never had a television or a computer because our parents believed they were 'poison to a child's mind'. Everyday, when we had finished our schoolwork for the day we'd always play outside and have our own imaginary adventures. It was fun. Also, every three months or so, we'd go camping in the outback with our cousins. We would build rafts from fallen branches and ride down the creek. It was fun even though we got splinters in our hands and feet. At night, we'd sit around the campfire making up stupid stories while toasting marshmallows. I know I'm going to miss that, but I suppose I haven't really registered being in Hoenn yet. But I'm sure I'll find my way back home, anyway.

For now, I'm excited to have adventures here in Hoenn, along with Ruby and more of these pokémon creatures. Maybe I'll make friends, too. Maybe, I might even -

"Actually, my daughter is coming over for lunch this afternoon. She works at the Fortree city pokémon gym. You can train your pokémon at the gyms. Most gyms specialise in type, for example, the Fortree gym specialises in flying type pokémon. You can train your vulpix there to give her a little help when battling against flying types, which will help tremendously in battles. Or if you have a flying type pokémon - for example a skarmory - they can help teach it some new flying-type attacks as well as strengthen its wings," Jillian says, cutting me off from my train of thought. "I can get her to bring you some supplies and more importantly some clothes and shoes."

"If you can get your daughter to do that, that would be good! Thanks."

She really talks a lot. I feel horrible for thinking this, but does she ever shut up? But then again it seems like she doesn't see many other people than her husband and possibly her son. As far as I can tell, this Mount Pyre place is pretty dead. But anyway, she's definitely a very giving lady. And I'm just bitter.

With my response, Lillian leaves to go back into the house and I follow her along with Ruby. When we get inside, she picks up a small electronic gadget from the kitchen bench.

"I'll just call Lucy, then. Oh, is it okay if I tell her about how you got here? It's just something I feel she would need to know."

"Yeah, I that will be fine. But can you tell her to keep it private? I don't really want everyone knowing that."

"Sure! While I'm talking to her, maybe you can sit down and watch a little telly, eh? It'd be good to rest up a little more."

She starts talking to her daughter via this gadget. I sit on the couch and Ruby jumps on next to me. The television is still on and still broadcasting that show with the floral-dress lady and that Steven bloke. Except now he has –what I'm assuming to be- his pokémon next to him. One is this dark brown, dinosaur-like beast, standing about a hand's length above Steven. It's whole head and back looks clad in steel armour. It has a silver 'helmet' that extends into a sharp point from its forehead and two long, sharp, forward-facing horns coming from the crown of its head. The other is a massive silver bird with red wings that look like they're made of swords. Its crest makes it look a little like it's wearing a helmet, much like the other pokémon, except without the horns. It has piercing amber eyes and a spear-like tail. It looks like its covered in small, sharp spikes and it stands around the same height as the presenter. Both of these creatures look lethal; especially that giant-death-bird. If my parents knew I was watching this, I'd get in so much trouble. They'd say these creatures are from the underworld and they're trying to lure me into their evil ways, or something along those lines.

"This is one amazing skarmory, but now I think we want to hear about your aggron, here?" the presenter asks Steven.

"Okay, Gemma! So this is my aggron" Steven says, stroking the dinosaur-thing. "I caught him as an aron over in granite cave way back when I was about ten. Actually he was the first pokémon I caught. He's been on my team ever since."

"What's his personality like? Any interesting stories involving him?"

"He has a very playful and friendly nature. He always makes me laugh with his antics. As a matter of fact, I do have an interesting story. It was about a month after I had caught him as an aron. I was having lunch at one of the big, well-known beachside restaurants in Slateport. It was one of those ones where you could have battles with small pokémon. Anyway, I had all let my pokémon out of their balls so they could eat and enjoy the sunshine. I wasn't really watching them too carefully. But then I started hearing this weird crunching and squeaking noise. I looked around to see what was making that noise. Then I heard a loud bang and saw some smoke coming from one of the vending machines. And there was my aron, happily eating the vending machine. I knew that this species liked to eat metal, but I guess I didn't realise it would rather eat a machine than standard pokémon food. Luckily, I didn't really get in trouble with the restaurant staff as I was a young beginner, but I was really embarrassed," Steven laughed.

The audience laughed with him and Gemma - the presenter - is now stroking the back of that death-bird while it eats something out of her hand. It must be really well trained to not tear her and the whole audience to shreds with its talons and have a mass murdering rampage. Or maybe that species of pokémon doesn't have a ruthlessly homicidal nature. The aggron doesn't seem like it has the insane serial killer nature.

"Have you ever trained any pokemon that are not steel, rock or ground types?"

"Actually, I haven't even caught any that were those types. I spent most of my time in caves, searching for fossils, rare stones and other artifacts. So naturally I'd meet my pokémon in caves or revive them from fossils. It's comforting to know that they're happy to be in caves and underground. Plus they tend to have an advantage over those pesky zubat and golbat, as they don't get poisoned easily. But if I come across – say a swablu for example– and it was abandoned or orphaned and had nowhere to go, I may keep it and train it; maybe not as a member of my battling team, but as a companion or a pet."

There's a lot of 'aww' and applause coming from the audience. This man is utterly charming.

"That's so sweet! Well, that's all we have time for. So, on behalf of the audience and the viewers at home, I'd like to thank Steven for coming here on the show today! And thanks to skarmory and aggron as well! Give it up for Steven and his pokémon, everyone!" Gemma exclaims.

The audience goes wild for the umpteenth time. Steven waves, bows and smiles. His pokémon seem completely unfazed.

"Thank you for having me here on the show! It's been a pleasure!" Steven shouts to the audience.

"And thank you all in the audience and at home for watching Breakfast with Gemma this morning! Good bye and have an amazing day today!" Gemma shouts enthusiastically as she waves goodbye to the audience.

The credits begin rolling just as Lillian comes into the room.

"So she'll be coming over with some basic supplies in a few hours. You can go back to Fortree with her. On the way there, she'll teach you the basics of pokémon training and also how to catch pokémon. She'll also pick up some clothes and shoes for you."

"Yeah, that's fine. Thank you so much!"

"No problem. I help many people who get stuck up here with injured pokémon. It gives me something to do when I don't have any baby vulpix to take care of."

…

After spending the morning simultaneously playing with Ruby and reading old books about the basics of pokémon battling, I get called over by Lillian to set the table for her. It's not a hard thing to do, it's just putting some place mats, plates, cutlery and a few trivets on the table. Lillian is busy in the kitchen, chopping vegetables and prearing the meat. I'm curious as to what she's cooking; I can smell the faint scent of raw fish, so it's a seafood dish of sorts…

There's a knock on the door and Lillian walks from the kitchen to answer it. Ruby's ears twitch and she jumps off the couch to greet the visitor as well. The visitor is none other than Lucy, Lillian's daughter. She's rather tall and slender, like her mother, and she looks to be in her twenties. She has the same green-grey eyes as Lillian's and a somewhat longer face. What's odd is that her long hair and her eyebrows are pale pink, but it looks natural, there's no regrowth and her hair looks soft and lustrous. I've seen some people back home who have dyed their hair those crazy colours and it always looked really tacky and artificial, not to mention their hair looks frizzy and brittle. I remember my parents telling us never to dye our hair, as it is 'vanity'.

"So you're Maria" Lucy says, extending her hand out for a handshake. "Hi!"

"Hi! Yeah, I'm Maria"

I shake her hand and then we sit down at the table, which has only been set with three placemats and some trivets in the centre. Lucy put her bags down just under the table. Lillian is in the kitchen making the final preparations to our meal. The delicious scent of citrus-tinged seafood fills the air, making all of us hungrier by the minute. Ruby has sadly curled up on her bed after being scolded by Lillian, yet again for poking around at our feet and running amok.

"So, are you hoping to enter the pokémon league? Or do you just want to train and battle for the joy of it?" Lucy asks me.

"I really just want to train and battle for the joy of it. I'm mostly looking forward to the outdoor traveling; I love camping and hiking, so I'll definitely enjoy that aspect of it. As for the pokémon training, I love the company of my vulpix it'll be awesome to have more pokémon with me on my adventure."

"Well that's great, then. Would you want to go alone or with company?"

"I'll start out alone but if I meet someone I get along with then I'll go along with them, perhaps. I don't know. I'll play it by ear, I suppose."

"I was just thinking, at the gym where I train, you could meet some other trainers there…"

"That would be nice…"

"Oh! I just remembered," Lucy exclaims, pulling out a bag from under the table. "I bought you some supplies, as well as some clothes and a pair of shoes. You can keep the bag; you'll need it. Also, I bought stretchy clothes as mum only guessed your size. Besides these ought to do you well until we get to a clothes shop."

"Oh great, thanks so much!"

I open the bag and I find some clear plastic containers, one had some pokéballs in it and the other one had various medicines in it. The rest were empty. There was a pair of trackpants, a pair of plain runners, a few t-shirts, socks and underwear. In a side pocket, there was a drink bottle and a little first-aid kit as well.

"Oh, thanks! This is really good!"

"That's alright. But trust me when I say that you really do need all that stuff, even if it is for just a few hours out in the wild. I didn't include tents and sleeping bags as we can just fly on my skarmory to Fortree. Also, do you know about the pokémon centres?"

"Well I guess if you're traveling from town to town on foot then yes, you would need camping gear. But I do know about the pokémon centres. I read about them and that you can stay the night, have a feed and get your pokémon healed."

"Well that's all good then!"

And with that, Lillian brings out lunch and sets the plates and bowls on the trivets.

"So this is grilled magikarp fillet with a sitrus berry sauce," Lillian says with gusto. "And on the side we have a basic fresh salad. You two better eat up if you're going out to Fortree tonight."

I bring my plate over and she puts a piece of this fish and a spoonful of salad onto my plate. It smells divine. I eat a small piece of it and I'm surprised that it's quite rich. I thought it would be lighter. Oh well, it'll give me energy for my upcoming adventure.

"This dish is amazing! Thanks so much, Lillian!"

"No problem, Maria! I'm glad you like it."

…

We're all out side at the front door of the house, about to leave for our little journey to Fortree. I've changed into my new clothes. The shoes are a little big for me but it's no big deal. Lillian hands me Ruby's pokéball. I press the button and aim towards Ruby and, in a beam of red light, she's in the pokéball. I find that really strange. My parents would say this is witchcraft. It's funny; I keep thinking of them even though it's only been about a day since I last saw them. I guess I'm missing them already. Even though they were weird and strict they were alright. They _are_ my parents, after all.

"I hope you two have fun! Good luck Maria!" Lillian shouts excitedly while waving.

"Thank you for all your help Lillian!"

"See ya later mum!" Lucy says. "Come out skarmory!"

Lucy then throws a pokéball in the air. In a flurry of bright light there stands that death-bird I saw on the television. It screeches and flaps its machete-like wings. Bloody hell this thing is even more terrifying in real life! It's massive; taller than me with the sunlight is glinting off every sharp point of its body. It has now become apparent that I'm scared.

"Don't worry, my skarmory won't hurt you," Lucy reassures while climbing up onto its back. "He knows you're not a threat so he won't hurt you. Just hold onto my back, okay?"

"Oh… Okay then," I say nervously as I sit up behind her.

The skarmory's body isn't as sharp as I thought it would be. I can feel a little roughness but it's not irritating. I was really expecting my legs to bleed profusely. But they're fine.

"Hold onto my waist, Maria. Skarmory, fly to Fortree!" Lucy shouts.

With a flap of its wings, we begin to lift off the ground. I grip on to Lucy tightly. I look down and I see the house below. But I notice for a brief second, that there are tombstones dotted on the summit of Mount Pyre. No wonder it felt so eerie there. We're flying quite fast; we've already passed over the sea and we can see the mainland below. I can see the wilderness I saw before, but I have a better view now. I can see that it's covered in tall grass surrounded by sub-tropical rainforests with big, sparkling blue lakes. It's absolutely gorgeous, it's like it was taken straight out of a poster you'd see at a travel agency.

Flying feels absolutely amazing. The sensation of flying is new to me; I've never been in an aeroplane before, and I've certainly never ridden on a skarmory's back either. I feel the wind brushing against by face and body while we soar well above the land below. I guess this is what freedom feels like.


	4. A Poochyena, an Absol and an Emergency

Author's note: This chapter is quite a lot longer the past three. Also this chapter is pretty gory and there is bloodshed.

**Chapter 4: A Poochyena, A Wild Absol and an Emergency**

...

Lucy guides her skarmory to land on a dirt road right by a large patch of two metre high grass. We land safely. I release my grip on her waist and climb off the skarmory. Lucy climbs off as well and pats her skarmory's head.

"Good job skarmory! You deserve a good rest," Lucy says while returning skarmory to its pokéball. She then turns to me. "Fortree is just a ten-minute walk to the west from here. But I guess you want me to show you how to catch a pokémon, eh?," she giggles.

"Yeah, okay! But where do we find pokémon?"

"See that really tall grass over there? Wild pokémon live there. We'll have to walk through it. Don't worry about getting attacked, you have your vulpix for protection and you have my pokémon and me as well. Try and be quiet, you don't want to startle the wild pokémon too much."

"Okay, let's go!"

We walk into the tall grass cautiously. It's so tall and thick that it's hard for us to walk. But still, we're venturing further and further into the grass. Then I hear rustling, coming from a few metres away. I'm a little startled but Lucy reassures me.

"It's probably a wild pokémon. Just keep quiet," she whispers.

We both stay still and quiet. I carefully move a wad of grass away from in front of me in hope to catch a glimpse of it. I hear the rustling coming closer and I hear a soft panting and sniffing sound. And then I see a red nose poke out from the grass in next to me. I freeze, but only for a second. Then a pokémon pokes its face out. It looks a like a wolf pup. It's only up to my knee in height. Its face is black and it has large, amber eyes with red irises. The rest of its body has a long, shaggy, grey coat, black paws and a long, bushy tail. It leers and growls at us. I can see it has large, sharp teeth and I think it would have a pretty nasty bite. But nonetheless, I think it's really cute.

"That's a poochyena, do you want to try and catch it?" Lucy whispers.

"Yeah," I whisper back. "What do I do?"

"Okay, let your vulpix out of its pokéball. You've got to weaken the poochyena first so it'll stay in the pokéball."

I throw Ruby's pokéball and she materializes right in front of the poochyena. It's a little startled and starts to bark aggressively. Ruby growls in determination, her eyes focused on her opponent. I guess that's her father in her.

"Tell your vulpix to use ember attack!"

"Ruby, come on! Use ember attack on the poochyena!" I shout.

Ruby spits out some little balls of fire towards the poochyena, causing it to flinch. But then it growls and tackles Ruby. Ruby takes the hit but she quickly springs back up.

"Ruby, use ember attack again!" I command.

Ruby shoots her attack at the poochyena. The poochyena barks and charges towards Ruby.

"Ruby, dodge it!"

Luckily, she dodges the attack. I notice that the poochyena is limping a little. But it gets back up on its paws and hurls itself towards Ruby again. This time, Ruby receives the hit but she stands back up. The poochyena is looking pretty tired now.

"Okay, now you can throw a pokéball at the poochyena, but don't throw too hard or you'll hurt it. And remember to press the button first."

I reach into my bag and grab a pokéball. I press the button in the centre to expand it to full-size. At full-size, the pokéball is about the size and weight of a cricket ball so I've got to be careful when throwing it. I carefully throw it at the poochyena, trying not to hit it. The ball opens and the poochyena is enveloped in a beam of red light. The ball closes and starts shaking while the button flashes.

"Don't touch the pokéball, Maria. Wait for the button to stop flashing. Then you can pick it up."

I pick up Ruby and cuddle her. She's okay; she's not really hurt at all. She snuggles into my arms and I scratch behind her ears. The pokéball stops moving and flashing. I pick it up while still holding Ruby in my left arm.

"Congratulations! You successfully caught your first pokémon!" Lucy exclaimed. "Why don't you let it out?"

I throw the poochyena's ball and surely enough, the poochyena materializes in front of me. It isn't angry as it was before. It just looks exhausted. But I'm a little scared to pick it up; I don't want it to bite me. Instead I crouch down and try to pat it. It doesn't growl or bite me; it just sniffs my hand and lets out a weak bark. It then tries to lick a wound on its back but it can't quite reach it. It starts to whimper sadly.

"Lucy, what do I do?" I ask, worried about its well being.

"It's best that we take it to a pokémon centre as soon as possible. You should put both of your pokémon back in their balls. We're not far at all from Fortree."

"Okay," I say while returning my two pokémon.

"Good. Let's go! I'm pretty sure it's this way. Wait, actually I'll take out my navigator, we don't want to waste too much time," she says, unzipping the side pocket of her bag.

We hear a deep, heavy growl. Lucy and I freeze. Suddenly, a large beast-like pokémon jumps out of the grass and pins Lucy down with its huge paws. It's head reminds me of a yin-yang, its face is dark and a large scythe arcs above its head. The rest of its slender body is covered in long, white fur and its large paws have three huge, black claws along with large dewclaws at the back. This looks like a creature from the Underworld. I look in horror, as it focuses its deep, red gaze into hers. Lucy screams as she tries to push it off her.

"Maria! Get your vulpix to attack!" Lucy screams.

"Ruby!" I yell as I clumsily throw her pokéball. "Use ember!"

But I'm too late. The beast gashes Lucy's face with both of its front paws. I hear Lucy scream for a second but then she falls unconscious. But following my command, Ruby shoots the flames at the beast and it throws its paw Ruby to scratch her. I'm shaking; I've never been this scared in my life. But I have to get this beast away.

"Ruby, dodge it! Keep using ember!" I scream, hyperventilating.

Ruby manages to escape the scratch, and she fires away with her ember attack. The beast limps a little. I notice there's a burn on its right paw from the flames. The beast however, doesn't seem too fazed by this. It leaps off Lucy and bites Ruby's leg. Only it doesn't do as much damage as I thought it would. She doesn't seem like she's injured, but she's looking like she's about to collapse.

"Use ember again!"

Ruby shoots another few embers at the beast but it seems like it's not doing much damage. Ruby collapses onto the ground. I can't bear to see this happening. The beast isn't going to back down. So, in a state of panic, I grab a pokéball from my bag and throw it as hard as I possibly can at the beast's head, in hope that I can give it a concussion or something. I manage to hit it smack in the face, also hitting its nose as well. Just like with what happened when catching the poochyena, it was encapsulated in the pokéball in a beam of red light. The button on the ball flashes a yellow light as it rolls around. The button stops flashing much more quickly than I expected. I can't believe it; I just caught that thing. I pick up the ball and clip it on my belt. Without a word, I return the fallen Ruby to her pokéball as well.

I run over to Lucy. She's still unconscious. The cuts are deeper than I thought; she's bleeding heavily. She'll need stitches, for sure. She has three, long gashes down her right cheek below her eye, going down to her chin and on the left side she has three, shorter gashes on her forehead. It's a horrific sight for sure. She needs to get to a hospital, fast. I pick her up and hope that nothing else jumps out at me while I try to get out of here. But I don't know which direction is out; I've been moving around too much. This is bad. I've never been so scared in my life. The sound of my heartbeat and my fast, heavy breathing fills the air.

Then I notice the pokéballs on her belt. Maybe I can get one of her pokémon to fly us to Fortree or at the very least, out of here. I assume she trains mostly flying types. I grab one of the balls from her belt and I throw it. Then a blue bird-creature with large white fluffy wings and small talons appears from the ball. It has white cheeks, a white beak and two, long feathers coming out from the top of its head. It looks sadly at Lucy. It's way too small for us to fly on its back; it's only the size of my head. I remember reading in one of those books this morning that most flying pokémon can help with navigation. I hope that book was right.

"We need to help Lucy! Can you find help?" I ask the bird pokémon.

It looks sadly at Lucy. However, it obeys my command. It flies up, looks around and chirps repeatedly, as if to tell me that this is the right direction. It swoops down lower so I can see it more easily. I walk in the direction it flies. It's much harder to get through this grass while carrying someone. But luckily, after only two minutes of walking and stumbling, we reach a clearing. But I quickly notice that this is not where we were when we landed. To my right, there's a big lake and a wide wooden bridge that crosses it. But I notice that there's a man about twenty metres away from us. Lucy's blue bird pokémon flies over towards him and chirps loudly until he looks in our direction. I wave to get the man's attention. He notices that I have someone unconscious in my arms and he runs over to us. When he sees Lucy, his facial expression becomes shocked.

"What happened?" he gasps.

"Well she was showing me how to catch a pokémon and a big, white pokémon with a black, scythe-appendage-thing jumped on her and scratched her face," I explain, sounding panic-stricken.

"How long ago was that?"

"About ten minutes ago. We really need to get to Fortree!" I shout in desperation.

"Does she have any large flying pokémon?"

"She has a skarmory. I don't know about what else she has though… And I don't know which pokéball it's in."

"Let the skarmory out and fly on it. I'll guide you to Fortree while I fly on my altaria."

"Okay, thanks..."

I return the blue, fluffy bird pokémon to its ball. I pick out a different pokéball. I'm hoping like crazy that it's skarmory. Luckily it is. It squawks happily but it then sees its trainer and it become rather distraught. The man lets out a pokémon that looks like the blue bird that guided me out of the grass, except that it's bigger and has a longer neck, a proportionately smaller face and longer head-feathers. It must be the evolved form.

"Skarmory, we need to get to Fortree city, quickly!"

It squawks and crouches down so I can get onto its back. I put Lucy on my back and wrap her arms and legs around me. I can feel her blood soaking through the back of my t-shirt. But that's the least of my concerns right now. I secure my grip on her and the skarmory. I find it hard to do because I'm still shaking but I have to help her; she could well and truly die.

"Follow me okay?" the man yells from the sky.

"Alright! Skarmory, follow him! Fly!" I shout.

Skarmory thrusts into the air and follows the man on his pokémon. We pass over the patch of tall grass we were just in. From above it doesn't look very big at all. I see that I was going the opposite direction from Fortree. But now I'm headed in the right direction. The man guides his pokémon to fly lower, just above a forest. But this forest's trees have large tree houses built into them. Normally, I'd be fascinated, but now is just not the time.

"This is Fortree city. If we land now we'll be just in front of the hospital!" he shouts to me, while guiding his pokémon to land in a small park.

"Alright! Skarmory land here!"

We all land safely in the park. I can see that we're only about thirty metres away from the hospital. Skarmory crouches down lower so it's easier for me to get off. I make sure Lucy is secured on my back.

"Thank you," I say to the man.

"No problem! I'm glad I could help, but you should really get your friend to hospital right away! Do you want me to come in with you?"

"I'll be fine. Thanks anyway..."

I turn to the skarmory.

"Skarmory, you were great!"

I pat its neck and put it back in its pokéball with my spare hand. I clip the ball back onto Lucy's belt.

...

I stagger over to the hospital's front doors and when I get inside, I head to the reception desk. I have no idea what to say or do. The receptionist looks up from her computer.

"Hello! How may I help you?" she cheerfully greets as if she didn't see Lucy's bleeding, unconscious body draped over my back.

"Hi. Um, my friend was attacked by a wild pokémon. She's passed out and her face is bleeding a lot..."

"Well let's take a look at her. How recently did this happen?"

"It happened about twenty minutes ago."

I take Lucy and put her in front of me so the receptionist could get a better view. The receptionist's eyes widen and her jaw drops. She looks horrified to see the huge, bleeding gashes on Lucy's face.

"We need to get her in quick!" she shouts, while picking up the telephone. "Hello, emergency, come quickly to reception! We have a woman who's bleeding like crazy!"

Within a few minutes, some nurses come with a stretcher and they lay Lucy down on it. They give me her bags and belongings before rushing her to another wing where she'll be operated on. The receptionist gets me to stay at the desk and answer some questions about what happened and anything about Lucy that I know.

"It would be a good idea for you to call a close friend or relative of hers. Check her bag for her navigator."

"What does a navigator look like?"

The receptionist sighs. I feel like an absolute idiot.

"It's a small, hand-held device specially designed for traveling pokémon trainers. As the name implies, it is used to help trainers find there way around the wilderness. It also has a feature where you can call people as well as look up their profile. You must have something similar from where you come from. Every region has something like this but they each have different names for it," she explains.

That must be the thing Lillian had used to call Lucy this morning. I dug into Lucy's bag and I found it. Now how do I use this thing? I never grew up with much technology so I haven't got a clue.

"How do I use this?" I ask, embarrassed.

"Here I'll help you," she sighs impatiently.

I hand her the gadget and she shows me which buttons to press. On the screen, I see the names of people. She shows me how to select the person I want to call and how to call them. I call her mother – Lillian.

"Hello, Lucy?" a familiar voice answers.

"Hi, this is Maria. Umm… Lucy was attacked by a wild pokémon and she's in the Fortree hospital. She was hurt pretty bad."

"How did this happen? What happened to her?" Lillian asks, panic-stricken.

"A big, white pokémon jumped out, knocked her over and scratched her face. She passed out. I flew to Fortree on her skarmory with the help of a random guy who guided us there."

"What's her condition like? Is it stable?"

"I… I don't know. She was just admitted into the hospital so I don't know…"

"Call me when you get more information on her condition."

"Okay… I will…"

I press the red button to end the call, just like the receptionist showed me. She then tells me to sit in the waiting room until she gets more information about Lucy's condition. I take Lucy's belongings and put them on the floor next to me. I take her belt and put it in her bag as well. I sit down, trying not to lean too far back into the chair; I don't want to stain it. I notice some magazines on a small table a few metres away from me but I don't really feel like getting up because I'm pretty tired after carrying Lucy around. Instead I just rest my head on my left hand and stare blankly at my surroundings. I hope this doesn't take too long. I'm still nervous and agitated but my breathing has calmed down. After about two minutes I decide to read a random magazine to burn time. After reading several long articles about home decorating, the receptionist finally comes into the waiting room to update me on Lucy's condition.

"Lucy's in a fairly serious, but stable condition. She's getting stitches at the moment and she'll likely need a blood transfusion. It will probably be about two days until she can be discharged… I don't know what you plan on doing here in Fortree, but I'm assuming you're a pokémon trainer. If you want to go to the pokémon centre, it's about a five-minute walk from here. It's the building with the big red roof, you can't miss it," says the receptionist. "Also, seeing as you have her navigator, we'll call to update you on her condition. Can I use her navigator to register our details?"

"Okay," I say, grabbing the navigator out of Lucy's bag and hand it to her.

The receptionist presses a few buttons on the navigator and writes down a number on a small scrap of paper.

"Okay, so I've registered this hospital's details onto her navigator. As I said, we'll call you to give you an update."

She gives back the navigator and I put it back into Lucy's bag, where I found it.

"Thanks… So I guess I'll be hearing from you later then. Bye," I squeak.

"See you later!"

…

I walk through the sliding doors of the pokémon centre. There's a short queue two people in front of me but the girl at the front desk is working quickly to check the health of their pokémon. I'm getting odd looks from a few people passing by, probably due to my bloodstained t-shirt. I just ignore them and hope they don't say anything. I remember to call Lillian, so I take Lucy's navigator from her bag and call Lillian. She doesn't pick up so I leave an awkward message, saying:

"Umm, hi, Lillian. This is Maria. Uhh…yeah. Lucy's in a serious, but stable condition and, um… she's getting stitches and might be needing a blood transfusion, so… yeah… umm… She's okay, though like I said before, so, yeah…Bye…"

I put the navigator back in Lucy's bag and I wait in line. After a few minutes, I'm at the front of the queue.

"Good afternoon! What would you like for me to do for you?" a young woman with raspberry-pink braided hair asks.

"Uhh... I'd like to check up on the health of my pokémon."

"Certainly, just give me their pokéballs and I'll check up on them," she cheerfully chirps.

I hand her the three pokéballs on my belt. She puts the pokéballs on a machine and she looks at a few things on her computer. She clicks her tongue and furrows her brows. She takes a deep breath.

"Your vulpix is alright, it just needs a good night's rest. But your poochyena and especially your absol need further examination. They look to be pretty injured. Wait a second, I'll just call someone over and they'll be with you shortly to further check your pokémon. Can I get your name, please?"

"My name's Maria"

She picks up the telephone.

"We just have some pokémon here that need some extra attention… Okay… Yeah… Thanks," she says and then she puts down the telephone. "Okay, just wait to the side, here. Someone will come and they'll take you to a separate room to check your pokémon."

"Thank you."

I move to the right, just as she told me to. A tall, blue-haired man in a lab coat comes out behind the desk and takes my pokémon. He looks around a bit before he sees me.

"So are you Maria?" he asks.

"Yeah, I'm Maria."

"I'm Doctor Edmond," he says extending his hand. "Can I get you come come with me?"

"Okay, sure," I reply, shaking his hand.

He leads me into a separate room, which has an operating table and various scientific machines connected to a computer. He sits down at the desk and puts the pokéballs onto a machine, which is connected to a computer. He looks at a few things on his computer and then turns to me.

"Okay, so I see your poochyena and your absol have some injuries that need further investigation. We've got to let them out of their pokéballs. We'll start with your absol as it seems quite injured," he says, grabbing one of the balls.

My body becomes tense again and my heart starts racing again. So the beast is called an 'absol'. He tosses the ball and out comes the absol. I can see that it has some burn wounds on its front legs, its nose is bleeding a little and its face is swollen from where it was hit. I feel bad; he probably thinks the absol is a pokémon I've had on my team and I must have abused it or something. He examines its wounds and it clumsily tries to swipe him. But it misses and just stumbles around, making some strange crying sounds as well. It must be in a lot of pain. Then it collapses onto the ground. For some strange reason, I feel kind of sorry for it. I quickly calm down as it seems like it won't attack.

"So your absol has some minor burns and it looks like we might need to take some x-rays. It looks like it has a concussion as well. Can you tell me what has happened to it?"

"Well, we were in the tall grass on our way back to Fortree, and it attacked my friend; gashing her face. She passed out in shock. I got my vulpix to use ember on it in hope that it'll chase it away. But instead, it kept getting angrier and started attacking my vulpix. I kept telling it to use ember and eventually it was exhausted. I had just caught my poochyena so it was too weak to battle. The absol didn't look like it would back down. I knew that I needed to get my friend to a hospital as soon as possible, so in panic, I threw a pokéball at it as hard as I could so I could at least injure it so it would be less likely to attack. But it ended up getting caught."

He looks at me a little shocked.

"Is your friend alright!?"

"Well they said she's in a serious, but stable condittion. So I guess that means she's sort of okay…"

"Well she should hopefully get better soon then!" he says with a sigh of relief. Then his voice changes to a brighter tone. "However it's a good thing you caught the absol and brought it here. Absol are a rare pokémon found in the mountains just west of route 119- just west of Fortree. That area is a pokémon sanctuary and most people are banned from entering that area. In the spring, absol come over to the lush forests of route 120 to raise their young. Because of their rarity, we want to preserve them as much as possible," he explains. "Anyway, we should treat this one's burns right away."

He opens a few drawers from his desk and takes out a green medicine bottle and a jar of some sort of ointment or cream. He then takes a pokéball from his belt and tosses it. Out from the ball emerges a small, purple pokémon, which looks like a blueberry with a face and large leaves coming from the top of its head.

"Oddish, use sleep powder on the absol," the doctor commands.

The pokémon sprays a strange powder onto the absol. It falls asleep straight away. The doctor recalled his pokémon and spayed some of the contents of the green bottle onto its burns. He wraps its paws in bandages. He then cleans the blood off its nose and gently rubs some cream over the bruised, swollen area of its face.

"From what you told me and from what I can see here, we need to take a few x-rays of your absol's head. We may even need to do a brain-scan if we find fractures in the skull. Don't worry about it going on a rampage; we can keep it under control. Besides, it looks like it won't be able to do much for at least a few days. Now, let's look at your poochyena."

He leaves the absol on the ground to continue sleeping. He then grabs another pokéball and tosses it. The poochyena comes out. It's a little tired and it's whimpering because of its burn.

"I can see this one has a burn right on its back. Again, this is only a minor burn. I don't need to make this one sleep as it's not a dangerous pokémon nor is it in any danger of falling over," he says, spraying some of the medicine from the green bottle onto the poochyena's wound.

The poochyena barks in pain a little bit and the doctor wraps some bandages around its back. He pats the poochyena on the head.

"Other than its burn it really just needs a good rest. It's best if you let this one rest outside of its pokéball, too," he says, smiling.

I pat the poochyena and stroke its back. It lets out a soft, happy bark. It's so cute. I have to name it. But what?

"Oh and before I forget, what gender is my poochyena? I want to name it."

"Your poochyena is a male. I can tell because it has larger fangs. Female poochyena have smaller fangs."

"Okay thanks! Hmmm… I'll name you… Roman!"

I look at my poochyena and like I did with ruby, I tried to get his attention.

"Roman?" I call. "Are cool with being called Roman?"

It barks and seems to fine with his new name. Yay!

"Roman! Come here!" I call again.

My poochyena, Roman comes to me and I pick him up. I cuddle him close to me. He's the cutest poochyena ever. Even though I haven't seen any other ones. Still.

"That's an interesting name. Anyway, we'll run the tests on your absol as soon as we can. By the way, do you have a navigator? I can call you when we have the results."

"Well, all I have on me is my friend's one so maybe I can get you to call hers. I don't know how to work this thing though…"

"Okay, I'll register our number for you. I gather you don't have these where you're from?"

"No, we don't." I say, hoping that he doesn't ask me where I'm from.

I quickly reach into Lucy's bag, take out the navigator and give it to the doctor. He pushes a few buttons and then he pulls out his own one and presses some buttons.

"Okay so I have your friend's number and my number should be on her navigator. I'll call when the tests are done, which should be in about and hour or so. We'll keep your pokémon safe with us; so don't worry. Maybe you can go and get something to eat while you wait?"

"Sure, okay! Thank you so much!"

"No problem!'

I walk back into the main lobby of the pokémon centre. I need to have a shower so I ask the same pink-haired girl at the front desk if they have those facilities.

"Yes! You sure can! I'll just check for any vacant rooms… Okay. So we have a vacancy. Here's the key for your room and you're going to stay overnight, yeah?" she asks while handing me the key.

"Actually, I want to stay here for two nights, so..."

"Okay, no problem. I'll just change that… Okay! Your room number is number 15. It's also printed on your key. Just turn to your left, up the corridor, turn to the right and go down that hallway. Your room is on the left. Remember to lock the door when you get in."

"Thank you!"

And so I head to my room.

…

I put my bags down onto one of the bunk beds. On the foot of each bed are a white towel, some small sachets of shampoo and little bar of soap. I take off my shoes and I head into the bathroom to have a shower, taking the towel and shampoo with me.

The bathroom is very plain but I suppose it doesn't matter. I look into the mirror and I see that my hair is a frizzy, blood-stained mess. The blood has dried now, but on my blonde hair it's quite obvious. No wonder I got so many weird looks. Good thing I got the shampoo. I take a shower and wash off all the blood and sweat that I was covered in. I shampoo my hair and watch as all the blood and dirt stains the water. I feel much more relaxed now.

I dress myself in the same stuff as I was wearing before, except with a clean t-shirt and socks. I'm attempting to brush my hair by running my fingers through it. It takes a surprisingly long time to do it that way and after about five minutes I get sick of it. It doesn't _really _matter if my hair's not perfect, anyway. As my parents would say: 'it's vanity'.

Lucy's navigator starts making sounds. I guess that means someone is trying to call. I press the green button and hold it close to my ear.

"Hello?"

"Hi, is this Maria?" says Doctor Edmond.

"Yeah. How's the absol?"

"I've taken the x-ray and it has a small crack in its skull. Luckily, the brain scan showed no signs of brain damage. However, it is still concussed. It doesn't need to be operated on but it does need a lot of rest for the fracture to heal- about two months. And by rest, I mean it won't be able to engage in any physically demanding activity or else you run the risk of the fracture getting more severe. This includes battles," he explains. "For the next three days, however, we need to keep your absol under our care because of its concussion. But you can visit whenever you like during the day."

"Oh, okay. I'll be staying here for a few days because of my friend in hospital so it's not a hassle. Thanks for taking care of my pokémon."

"No problem. Also, I wish your friend the best of luck with her recovery! See you!"

"Thanks for all that. Bye!"

I put the navigator on the little bedside table. I look out the window and notice that it's already dark now. I guess it's time for dinner. I put the key in my pocket and head to the cafeteria for dinner.

When I enter the cafeteria I notice a large group of about fifteen people crowding around one table. I'm too tired to care what the fuss is about so I just grab a tray, a plate and some cutlery and pile on some stew from the buffet. I sit down at one of the many empty tables and start to eat my stew. It tastes pretty good, actually. Then I look across from me and see that crowd of people around that table. But looking in between the people, I recognise who the source of the 'commotion' is. It can't be... I look again to make sure. And, yes, it really is him.


	5. Steven, Dress and a Brain-Damaged Absol

**Author's Note:** I was busy with stuff and things. And stuff takes up time and makes me forget about other stuff which makes stuff hard to do and thing. So yeah. This took me longer to write than I thought. I did lots of rewriting and tweaking and stuff. Oh well. Here 'tis.

**Chapter 5: A Crush, a Dress and a Brain Damaged Absol**

It's not hard to recognize him in the crowd; he's tall, his messy hair is bright silver and he's impeccably -if not eccentrically- dressed. He's very friendly towards the people in the crowd; chatting to them and signing their t-shirts and what-have-you. I smile and continue eating my stew. I don't want to stare at him too much; it'll creep him out. But then again he wouldn't even notice me through the crowd he is preoccupied with his fans. Why am I worrying about something so petty like this? I should just stop thinking and eat; I've had a big day and I need nourishment._  
_

I can see that the crowd is moving towards the doors of the cafeteria. I notice that it's because Steven is leaving. In a way, I'm disappointed but in another way I'm relieved. Now I can just go see my pokémon, and then go to bed. But before I do all that I should really get a drink and maybe a little dessert. I get up and go to the main buffet area. On a separate little table are plastic cups and three large jugs of juice, each a different flavour. I pour some of the pink juice into a cup. The juice is really sweet; it tastes like peaches and strawberries with a hint of citrus. I have another cup of it. I think this'll suffice as dessert; it's so sweet and quite filling.

I go to the front desk to check if I can visit my pokémon at this late hour. I notice the big crowd of people hanging around in the lobby. Maybe this is a peak-time? Makes sense; it's dark and a lot of travelers stay here for the night. The queue at the front desk is massive, so it'll probably take way too long for just a measly inquiry. It's too noisy and crowded here for me to wait. Plus, I'm exhausted from today's happenings. I look at the clock; it is 8:30 pm. I guess I'll have an early night tonight.

I get into my room and I take off my shoes. I crash onto one of the beds. There's so much on my mind right now. It's like my mind won't switch off and go to sleep, at least for now. To top it all off, I can hear the babble of the crowd in the lobby. Luckily it isn't too loud. But still, I need -and want- to sleep. I wallow in my own thoughts for a while, but I keep seeing the image of Lucy's bleeding face in my mind. Then there's her scream; short, sharp and earsplitting. And the paralyzing look of malevolence in the absol's eyes... But Lucy... Her wounds... It just keeps replaying... But she's in hospital now and the nurse said that she's okay. _She's okay. She's okay... She's okay..._

…

I wake up from my slumber. For a brief moment, I half-hope that yesterday was all just a really weird dream and that I was rescued. I open my eyes and see that I am here in the pokémon centre and wearing the same track pants and t-shirt I was wearing yesterday. In a way I'm anxious. But for some strange reason, I feel happy. I really don't know why, especially considering Lucy's condition and the fact that I have no idea how to get home. But I have a gut-feeling that she's alright. And I feel optimistic that I'll find my way home... It's sunrise; the deep, golden sunlight is pouring through the small window. Just like the sun, I decide to arise for the day.

I neaten up my clothes and head out to the cafeteria for breakfast. In there, there's only a group of three men who all look like serious backpackers. They briefly look up at me and then go back to their conversation. They must be a little surprised that someone else is here at such an hour. I look up at the clock and see that the time is 5:24am. I don't think I've ever woken up this early. I grab a few pieces of toast and smother them with butter and jam. I also get a cup of that same pink juice I had last night. I quietly sit down at a table and leisurely eat my breakfast. After several minutes, I see someone walking into the cafeteria. I look up; it's Steven, fully dressed for the day. He heads straight to the buffet area and takes his time studying his options for breakfast. I find it hard not to look at him. Not just because he's attractive, but because of the way he's dressed. He's dressed in the same frivolous outfit he was wearing last night. Why is he wearing such a formal suit? And what's with those silver rings around his arms? Maybe he's not traveling around the wilderness today. At least, I hope not. Maybe his suit is machine-washable?

He finishes piling fruit onto his plate and moves over to the table where the juice is. He turns around after filling his cup with the same pink juice that I have. I quickly look down at my food. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see that he's walking closer and closer to me. I start to feel my heart beating faster. I begin to smell the sharp, yet alluring scent of his cologne. He taps me on the shoulder.

"Hi, I hope this isn't too rude or anything, but what happened to you yesterday?" Steven asks, brows furrowed. "You had blood all over your hair and clothes, and a lot of people were wondering what had happened. I'm sorry if this is really invasive, it's just really rare that we see stuff like this..."

I'm lost for words. I honestly didn't expect him to say anything to me, let alone look at me. Up close, he's positively gorgeous. His eyes are a light sky blue, like the fresh, clear morning sky. But I have to maintain my composure.

"Well... My friend was attacked by a wild absol and I carried her on my back to the hospital here in Fortree. She was bleeding a lot, but she's in hospital now and she's stable, as far as I know."

He looks shocked.

"That's terrible! Your friend is lucky to be alive! Normally most absol attacks result in death; one swipe from its horn and you're gone. But good on you for carrying your friend on your back. Did you see the attack?"

"Yeah, I was right next to her. I turned my back for a brief second and suddenly she was pinned to the ground. I weakened it using my vulpix, but she eventually became exhausted. So I panicked and threw a pokéball at the absol. I hit it pretty hard and it stayed in the ball. So now I have an absol."

"You... You caught the wild absol?" he stutters, his eyebrows raised and his mouth agape.

"Yeah..."

He's looking at me really weirdly now. It's like he thinks I'm crazy or something. I don't know. I can't quite get my finger on why he looks so puzzled. I think it may have something to do will the absol and the fact that it might be a hazard.

"...How long have you been a pokémon trainer for?"

"Since yesterday!" I chirp.

"Yesterday!?" he gasps in shocked disbelief, "You do know a wild absol will to be extremely difficult to train, right? Even just training it not to attack whenever it wants to will be an incredibly difficult task... But you should be able to release it back into the wild."

"I never thought about training it. But, the doctor here at the pokémon centre said it's concussed and it has skull fractures and it has to stay here for a couple of days... I really don't know what to do. I haven't thought about it because I was so preoccupied with my friend's condition."

"Well, that's understandable. Your friend was critically injured, so what else could you do? It's really brave of you to carry her to the hospital."

"Yeah... Thanks."

"Oh, by the way, where are you from? I've never heard an accent like yours before," Steven asks, smiling at me slightly.

I feel awkward. I don't want him to ask how I got here, because it's absolutely crazy. I don't want him to think I'm out of my mind. He puts his plate down on the table but he still continues to stand up.

"...I'm originally from Australia," I mumble.

"I've never heard of that place before. Where is it?"

"Well... It's a really small island really far away from here," I half-lie, "I haven't been there in a long time and it's so small, I wouldn't be able to point it out on a map... I know that sounds bad, but yeah..."

"Oh, okay... What brought you to Hoenn?"

"Uh, it's a little... personal. Sorry," I say shyly.

"Oh, I'm really sorry!"

"That's okay," I reply.

There's an awkward silence. We both look at each other, unsure of what to say. My, my, he's gorgeous... I'm blushing. _Crap._

"...I guess I should eat my breakfast now!" Steven says as he picks up his plate of food, "It was nice meeting you! By the way what's your name? I can't believe I didn't ask! Sorry!"

"Oh, my name is Maria... It was nice meeting you Steven!"

"Okay... Maria... I'll remember that! It was nice to meet you, too! I wish you all the best on your journey and also for your friend's recovery!"

We smile at each other for a few seconds. Then he goes to sit down at another table. Even from the back, he looks handsome; his shoulders are broad in comparison to his slender figure and he carries himself off well... Such poise... Oh crap, I think I'm going crazy. Oh well. I have more important things to worry about. But it's still too early to go visit Lucy. I know the visiting hours at the hospital are 3pm to 8pm so I still have heaps of time before then. For now, I'll just pick up my pokémon and also see what I can do about the absol. I glance at the clock; it's 6:03 am. Don't think I'll be able to talk to the doctor about the absol right now, seeing as it's really early.

I put my plate on the conveniently labelled 'dirty plates and cutlery' table. Before I leave the cafeteria, I look over to Steven and sigh. That man..._ No, it's just a silly crush. Shut up and keep walking, Maria..._

...

I'm sitting in Doctor Edmond's office while he examines the absol; it still looks dazed. I kind of feel sorry for it; it's making weird, squeaky howling noises, but it just stays curled up on the table. I thought it would be more restless. Ruby and Roman are out of their pokéballs, playfully chasing each other around the room. Adorable. The absol doesn't seem bothered by either of them. Strange; I thought that thing was a predator, so surely it must want to eat them for a snack, seeing as it's a 6 foot tall monstrosity. Meanwhile, Doctor Edmond types some things on his computer and turns to me.

"Last night, it was acting rather strange. It was 'singing' and it kept licking everything, the walls, the floor, my hands... This is not at all normal behavior. Just to make sure, we did another brain-scan on it. And from what I can see from this second scan and its behavoir, it seems that this absol does have some minor brain damage. It can function, but it will not be able to battle and it won't be able to fend for itself in the wild... How much experience do you have as a trainer?" Doctor Edmond asks.

"To be honest, I haven't started training pokémon since yesterday... I know that it's going to be hard to train the absol, so I was actually going to ask about what I can do with it. _Is_ there anything I can do?"

"Well..." he sighs, "Don't take this the wrong way, but with your lack of experience, I think keeping it wouldn't be the best idea for either you or the absol. My first suggestion would be to release it into the wild but considering the brain damage and the injuries, that would be a bad idea. And it would be very difficult to put a pokémon like this up for adoption. Unless... Do you know any experienced trainers who can help you raise the absol or raise it for you?"

"Actually, my friend works at the Fortree gym and I know they can help me with pokémon training. So, maybe they can give me some advice?"

"That's actually a pretty good idea, although, I think you should keep it here for another day or so. But also, you should try and bond with the absol. In order to reduce its hostility towards people, you should be friendly towards it, form a bond with it. Why don't you try and pat it?"

I get up from my seat and approach the absol. It looks at me, but not with aggression as it did when it attacked Lucy; it looks a little curious. I reach my hand out and it licks my fingers. I move my hand towards its mane and it doesn't seem to mind. I stroke its mane but the absol doesn't really react. I thought it would purr or something but, no, it just keeps making that weird howling, singing noise. Its mane is quite scruffy and I can see all this debris, like chunks of dirt and even... Is that a twig?

"The brain damage has altered its behavior and it seems to have lost a lot of its hostility towards humans and other pokémon. But it doesn't seem friendly either. It seems to have lost a few instincts as well, like its predatory instinct. Normally it would have attacked your other pokémon, but it doesn't even give them a second glance. Also, as I mentioned before, it seems to have developed some strange habits like the licking and the singing. We'll check what's happening with it over the course of the next day or so. As for the the other two, you can take them with you now, if you like."

"Okay, thanks."

Doctor Edmond hands me the two pokéballs. I return Ruby and Roman and clip the balls onto my belt. I pick up my bag from the floor and sling it over my shoulder.

"See you later!" Doctor Edmond exclaims.

"See ya!"

...

I still have about 4 hours until I can visit Lucy so I have decided to head out and look around Fortree. The city is unreal. All the houses are built on the treetops. There are wooden bridges connecting all the tree houses together, forming a path or a walkway. There are small flights of stairs leading up to each house, too. Just in front of me, there's a sign pointing eastward that says 'Fortree Shopping Village'. Might as well follow the sign and have a sticky-beak at the shops.

The shopping village is formatted in a similar way to the houses I saw, except the walkways are much wider to accommodate the crowd. There is a large staircase leading to the walkway. I decide to walk up. I see all kinds of expensive-looking boutique stores, like the ones I saw when I went to Melbourne with my cousins. And just like in Melbourne, I notice everyone is pretty nicely dressed. At least in comparison to me; I look like a dog's breakfast. To be honest, I feel like scum just being here, but I'm curious as to what they sell here, seeing as I have a few hours to kill.

I walk into a shop called 'Birds of a Feather'. The shop's racks are filled with feminine colours and the garments are all intricately detailed in some way or another. I silently gasp as I pull out a gorgeous, white dress with a crescent-shaped, beaded yoke that covers the shoulders and neck. From the yoke, many voluminous, tiered layers of soft, diaphanous chiffon billow out to the knee. Each tier is cut asymmetrically in different directions.

"Hello! Would you like to try that on?" greets the cheerful voice of the shop assistant, "It's a new arrival; just came in this morning".

"Oh, hi!" I reply, "Umm, yeah I'd like to try it on"

"Sure. This dress comes in one size only, as the cut is very forgiving"

"Oh, alright then"

The assistant leads me to a changing room and I hang up the dress on the hook. I don't know why I agreed to trying it on, especially considering I don't have the money nor the occasion to wear such a dress. But I have to kill some time. I take my t-shirt and track pants off and unzip the dress. I step into the dress and zip it up, pulling my hair out of the way. I stand up straight and look in the mirror. The dress looks suprisingly nice on me. It's very fun to twirl in as it makes a swishing sound every time I move. It's a bit restricting around the neck, especially with all the wooden bead work. But, I really like - and want - this dress. But I can't afford it even if I needed it. I sadly take off the dress, put my other clothes back on, then carefully put the dress back on its hanger. I sigh sadly before I open the changing room door.

"So how did it go?" asks the cheery shop assistant.

"Oh, it was really nice but I need to think about it... Thanks"

"Sure, that's okay"

I awkwardly walk out of the store quickly as I feel embarrassed for not buying the dress and for wasting the assistant's time. I look back at the shop and keep thinking of the dress. _You don't need it Maria. For Pete's sake, you should stop being so materialistic._

...

So after walking around the shops aimlessly for a couple of hours - all while _still _thinking of 'the dress'- I'm navigating the dull, grey labyrinth that is Fortree city hospital, trying to find Lucy's room. I reach the north wing, where I finally find the room Lucy is supposed to be in. I knock on the door a few times and I just let myself in seeing as no-one's answering. Lucy's asleep, which isn't suprising considering she's probably on some crazy strong pain medication. Her face is covered in bandages and she's hooked up to a machine of some sort. I don't know what to do. Should I try and wake her up? Or do I sit here and hope she does? I think I'll go for the latter.

I notice a card and some flowers on the bedside table. I walk over and look to see who they're from; they're from Lillian. The hospital must've told her where Lucy is. Or maybe Lucy regained consciousness before and called her mum earlier today. I also see that little-wheely-food-table with an empty but dirty plate on it. Maybe she did regain consciousness after all. Good. I'm glad she's okay. I'll sit here for a few more minutes in case she wakes up...


End file.
